Society scenes

New mutt in Pimpri Chinchwad
The Bhoomi pujan ceremony of the proposed Pimpri Chinchwad Raghavendra Swami Mutt was performed on December 13 by Swami Sushameendra Teertha Swamigalu, the ruling pontiff of Shri Raghavendra Mutt, Mantralay AP. The site for the proposed mutt is situated opposite the Moraya Mangal Karyalaya on the Chinchwad-Aundh road and is accessible from Bhosari, Pimpri and other nearby areas. As Swami Raghavendra had announced that the proceeds of the function would go towards the building of the mutt. As a token of appreciation, the Swamiji presented the traditional shawl and shreephal. The programme also included padta pooja and tapta mudra dharan and concluded with the distribution of phala mantrakshata.

Outstanding achievement
Dr Anwar Shaikh, a Government of India8217;s National Youth awardee, has been included in the directory of the MSPI Outstanding Personalities 8211; 1998. Shaikh is a lecturer at the Poona College and secretary of the Padvidhar Mitra Mandal. The directory is published by the Management Studies Promotion Institute in honour of an outstanding achievement and contribution towards the society.

In festive spirit
On December 11, World Vision of India, a non-government organisation celebrated Christmas at Gopal Vasti with the street children, with whom they have been working over the years. Children from the age group of five to 15 years attended the programme accompanied by adults who participated in the festivities.

Effective parenting
The Indian Association for Pre-school Education conducted two seminars for parents and teachers in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area at Amrita Vidyalayam School, Nigdi recently. F Tarapore, former principal of the SNDT College, addressed about 85 parents on Effective Parenting8217;. The talk stressed that a child8217;s progress is influenced by positive attitudes and the messages that are imparted at home and school. On December 12, a phonetics workshop was also organised at the same venue in which 30 teachers of the PCMC area participated. It was conducted by Anjali Bhende, an expert.

Painting for a cause
Unicef recently held the prize distribution function for its Rangat Sangat painting competition and the Children-to-Children scheme at Hotel Blue Diamond. This year a record 44,000 students from around 120 schools in and around Pune participated in the painting contest. This contest is different from others in the sense that every child that participates helps to immunise less privileged children against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. Totally 400 prizes were given away in the various categories that included some reserved for the physically and mentally challenged and the hearing impaired. The topics this year for the contest were Father and Child8217; and Child Labour8217;.

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